Healthy Times

And who knows the benefits of Yoga better…. than Baba Ramdev !!
Yoga guru Ramdev has claimed that regular practice of seven breathing exercises or ‘pranayams’ popularized by him had successfully ‘cured’ cancer within six to nine months. Practising the seven breathing exercises can cure cancer of the breast, liver, prostate, uterus, pituitary gland, brain tumours and even leukaemia. These claims were based on documentation and patients in hundreds have benefited, he said. “Some other ingredients like wheat grass juice and those derived from neem and tulsi leaves are also administered to patients alongside the breathing exercises.” The yoga guru said he believed that allopathy had utility and was needed in emergencies, but none should frown on time-tested yogic exercises.

Baba Ramdev has also stated that yoga can increase the immunity power of an AIDS patient. Recently, he old journalists that he has “sufficient evidence” to show that yoga can increase CD-4 count in blood of an AIDS patient. AIDS patients having CD-4 count as low as 19 had reported with rising count to the extent of 350 to 400 as against the normal count of 500, after being on a regular yoga practitioner.

Herbal Medicine helps improve Blood Count In AID Patients
Till date, many practitioners in India have claimed positive results using Ayurveda and herbal medicine to treat AIDS. A shot in the arm for all those has been a recent trial where fantastic initial results have been claimed in treating AIDS patients using an herbal concoction that leads to increase in weight and increase in white blood cell count.

Dr P L Meenakshisundaram, a specialist in HIV/AIDS treatment, has informed that the Herbal medicine, when taken along with Allopathic treatment, helped HIV patients to gain weight and their white blood cell count increased during research and clinical trials done over a period ranging from three months to one year. He added that while the allopathic medicine, when taken alone, did not increase the cell count, the drug taken along with the ayurvedic capsule increased the cell count among the patients “remarkably well.

Again at the same time, far away in China, it has been found that an herbal medicine used to treat cardiovascular diseases in China may improve symptoms of chest pain when used in conjunction with traditional treatments, according to a new systematic review. In several studies included in the review, taking tongxinluo improved angina patients’ electrocardiogram results.

India to have a nicotine-mapping laboratory !!
India will soon set up a laboratory of international standards to test the percentage of nicotine in tobacco products made in the country or coming from outside to help in the fight against tobacco-related diseases. The tobacco-testing laboratory is to come up in Ahmedabad, Gujarat, in collaboration with the Atlanta-based Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC). The Central Minister for Health, Mr. Ramadoss has informed that the laboratory would be the first of its kind in South and Southeast Asia but did not give a time frame within which it would be built.

India’s HIV health – a matter of serious concern !!
The effect of AIDs epidemic in India is alarming. A recent UN report has projected that India’s adult HIV prevalence will peak at 1.9pc in 2019.The UN estimates also suggests that the number of AIDS deaths in India will rise to 12.3 million during 2000-15, and to 49.5 million during 2015-50. The HIV prevalence rates are seen high in the Indian states of Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Manipur, Nagaland and Tamil Nadu.

Another very disconcerting fact is that women in India are more at risk of contracting HIV because few Indian men have knowledge of AIDS and this leads to greater risk for their spouses. High rates of illiteracy among women prevent them from knowing about the risks of HIV infection and possible protection strategies, it said. According to National AIDS Control Organization, 39% of the HIV infected people living in India are women.

As a measure to control the damages, Union government has come up with a series of ad campaigns to enhance on the HIV and AIDS awareness drive among the public. To start with, the Govt. will be distributing Antiretroviral Treatment (ART) drugs in 95 selected state run hospitals completely free of cost. According to estimates, around 5.206 million people between the age group of 15-49 years are said to be living with HIV/AIDS in India.

Advanced healthcare facilities to come up in Indian villages, courtesy Indo-US doctors !!

The American Association of Physicians of Indian Origin (AAPI) has signed a three-year memorandum of understanding with the Confederation of Indian Industries (CII) and Indian American Council (IAC) to promote development of the healthcare sector in India, with an emphasis on rural areas. As a part of the program, one hundred villages in India will soon be well equipped with primary healthcare facilities, mobile medical units and telemedicine centers. Moreover, in collaboration with the state governments, issues concerning better hygiene, clean drinking water and use of toilets in these villages will be aggressively promoted. Special emphasis would also be given to creating awareness about vector borne diseases and value of education. The first pilot project will be in the Patna district of Bihar, which would be done in association with Patna Medical College. Maximum emphasis will be placed on awareness, identification, detection and treatment of diseases like Diabetes, cardiovascular problems, deafness among children, carcinoma cervix and carcinoma prostate (both of the cancer family).

Indian Doctor-Scientist makes an important study about malnourished would-be mothers !!
An Indian scientist Dr. Piyush Gupta, of the University College of Medical Sciences, Delhi has proved that undernourished women who take a vitamin and mineral supplement while pregnant may be less likely than women taking only iron and folic acid supplements to have babies weighing less than 2,500 grams, and their newborns may be less likely to have morbidity in the first seven days of life, according to a recentreport.

Low birth weight, or a weight of less than 2,500 grams, is a major predictor of death in infancy. It also increases the risk that the child will grow up to develop coronary heart disease, type 2 diabetes, stroke or high blood pressure. Dr. Gupta and his colleagues conducted a randomized trial involving 200 pregnant women and were either underweight or with a low hemoglobin level, which can indicate malnourishment.